March 9

Start: SR 281
End: Laurel Shelter
Miles: 21.1
Total: 1574.1

I woke up in Kevin’s camper and did not really feel like getting up. The camper was cozy and better than being out under my tarp. Finally we got up and Kevin made some amazing banana pancakes.

We hung out in the camper for a bit and then finally left our secret spot so that I could get back on the trail. On the way we found Max walking the road and picked him up. His feet hurt and he was headed for a hotel in Heflin.

Kevin and Max dropped me off where Kevin and I had left off the day before at SR 281, and I set off about an hour before noon. My path took me through a lot of the familiar wooded hills, and soon I was crossing over a road on a bridge.

I made good time, and passed the Lower Shoal Shelter and the Pine Glen Campground with enough time to go for Laurel Shelter. A paper claimed that a bridge was under construction and that I should detour on a forest road, but I went for the trail anyway.

I never did find any evidence of a missing bridge. I got to Laurel Shelter just before dark, and gathered some firewood. I never could get a good campfire though, and I slept in the shelter even though I had set up my tarp just in case.